The art of the Stockholm metro – in pictures

The art of the Stockholm metro – in pictures

From fake underground grottoes to giant bronze tulips, murals making statements on ecology to work by ‘the Swedish Banksy’, Stockholm’s metro stations are full of surprises. All photographs by Luis Rodriguez

This was the first metro station to be built in Stockholm, and was where the concept of adding artwork to the subway began. Although the original sculptures and paintings were created in the late 1950s, T-Centralen has received numerous additions. In 1975, Ultvedt added many of its most memorable features, including these blue vines and floral motifs which were intended to create a sense of soothing calm for commuters

Kungsträdgården – Ulrik Samuelson

In 1977, Samuelson transformed the station into an underground garden to reflect the rich history of this Stockholm suburb and the former 17th-century Makalos palace, built on the same site for one of Sweden’s most famous families, before being destroyed in 1825 following a fire

Like many of the stations built in the 1970s, Kungsträdgården resembles a concrete underground cave. Samuelson used spray paints to wash the walls with colour. As passengers descend down the escalators, the patterns on the ceiling resemble a keyboard

Fridhemsplan – Ingegerd Möller and Torsten Renqvist

Möller and Renqvist created an array of exhibits around the station relating to the sea (1975), pointing to the ongoing protests at the time from conservationists. This particular glass case holds a small sailing boat or
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